How SEO can Improve Brand PR

Search engine optimization is often uncharted territory for many businesses. But unknown to them, SEO can bring tons of benefits – ranging from website traffic, higher conversions, and even boosting a brand’s PR.

Bad reviews, RipOff Reports, and other nasty citings can damage your business’ reputation. But instead of wallowing in despair or trying to take off these pages, you have one more option. This option is far more effective, and it will also bring in a domino effect of benefits: SEO.

So how does it work? To answer your questions, read on.

How bad PR occurs

Bad PR can be in the form of a negative review, a bad post about your brand, or a report stating negative findings of your business. All of these rank on the web, especially if you don’t have any high-ranking pages to counter such PR.

Take note that any content that mentions your brand will show up on the web, one way or another. If the website that bears the bad PR has good SEO, more people are likely to lay eyes on it. That spells trouble for your business.

What you shouldn’t do about bad PR

As much as you may try to counter a bad PR with badmouthing, you should be smart with your next moves. You can’t correct a mistake with another mistake, as they say. So as much as possible, approach bad PR professionally.

If the damage has been done, the best that you can do is trying to offer the best solution. If someone got injured in your business, offer to pay the hospital expenses and other things needed for the person’s recovery. If the bad PR is a negative review, offer the best possible solution. By acting positively, you’re converting bad PR into good publicity.

Where SEO comes in

With such negative things being said about your brand, it’s easy to succumb to panic. However, you have one great tool to fight back: search engine optimization.

Let’s take Coca-Cola, for example. This brand occupies almost all spots on the first page of the search results. Sometimes, they even run paid searches for their brand. All of this helps fight back any bad PR that will try to rank.

So technically, you’re not removing the pages that try to smear your reputation. You’re just burying it on the depths of the search results for only a few people to see.

By outranking your enemies, you’re saving your brand from bad publicity. On the side, it also drives more traffic to your website, which translates to higher conversion. All in all, SEO is a stone that hit many birds.

However, you have to act fast since SEO takes months to show results. So even before the bad PR occurs, it’s best to rank your pages as the first line of defense.

Conclusion 

Bad PR can ruin your business. But before it explodes on the internet, you can do something to minimize its impact. SEO is a great tool, not just in gaining traffic, but also in cushioning the blow of bad publicity.